Eight is Great

The eighth of ten blocks for the Raining Cats and Dogs quilt is finished now. It's one of my oldest UFO's, but not the oldest. I started it in December of 2013, and I'm embarrassed to say that I have two that are older. But, hey...progress is progress, so (sound of applause) I'm taking a bow.

When I went into the sewing room yesterday, the fusing was all finished.

I needed to add top-stitching and machine embroidery. I call it "machine embroidery," but technically, it's just top-stitching.

Then I added the hand embroidered tulips in the cart, the point of the umbrella, and the sign above the door.

And then some hot-fix nailheads for the cat's eyes and nose, the door knob, and a little star on the wheel of the cart. I gave the cat a pink nose in honor of you-know-who.

And then it was finished.

The only other thing I did yesterday was to can the Tomato Jalapeno Jam. During this year's canning, I tried several different recipes for tomato jam, which could just as easily be called "tomato crack." I've always loved Amy's Tomato Jam. It's so good I have to make it every year because if I ever run out, I will surely die a slow painful death, screaming in agony...puh-leeze...someone get me some tomato jam!

This year, I tried a recipe found in a Kindle cookbook I downloaded. (The name is so long I can't remember it long enough to type it.)

It's from a book called Jam Session...no longer reduced in price, I'm afraid. It was a good way to use a whole lotta cherry tomatoes, but I doubt I'd make it again...unless I have a whole lotta cherry tomatoes, and then maybe. Still it's very pretty in its jars.

Also, I tried Food in Jars' Smoky Spicy Skillet Tomato Jam, and that was pretty good, although I'm not a big fan of that "smoky" flavor in anything, and so I can't say this was a favorite. You might like it though.

They're all so pretty, aren't they? And are you getting that I really like, nay need tomato jam in my life?

So anyway, the other recipe I tried this year was the Small Batch Tomato Jalapeno Jam, and that was one of my top two. And because it's a "small batch" recipe, I had just four half-pints, three of which have already been consumed. So I made some more yesterday. Phew! Close call! I was almost out.

Now, you might be wondering just how much tomato jam one person can consume in a year, and I think this would be a very worthy project for testing. Possibly, I'll just keep tabs. When I made this the first time, I took all the ribs and seeds out of the jalapenos. This time, I left them in just one pepper. It was tempting to use all of them, but then my stomach started complaining, so I relented. It's best not to go crazy right out of the gate. It has plenty of kick, and so that'll be my way of making it from now on.

The thing I learned about tomato jam is that it's best made in a skillet. It takes a long time to cook the liquid in the tomatoes down to a nice syrupy consistency, and so a skillet is the perfect vessel. Although only one of the recipes suggested using a skillet, I'm using it for all of them now. A big one with at least 3-inch sides works best.

Okay, so have we completely covered the topic of tomato jam? All right, then. Moving on.

Today I have to run a few errands. I need to pick up my quilts from the show, and then I need to stop off at the bank. The bank is in the parking lot where our grocery store is located, and it seems a shame to waste a perfectly good foray into a parking lot, doesn't it? So, I guess I'll get at the meal planning for the week and get the grocery shopping done today. That will give me the rest of the week to stay home... and I'm talking Every. Single. Day. Sounds heavenly, doesn't it?

But first...some slow stitching.